It was the night in my blood: open dreaming night...

Potter recovered himself quickly
enough to obey, although his legs were somewhat unsteady when he began to walk.
Severus repressed the urge to sneer; he wondered what James Potter would think
of his son doing what he'd just done, bringing himself off against ugly, oily
Snivellus Snape. The irony was almost overwhelming.

He followed the boy to his office,
observing him all the way--marvelling at the thought that this was the
devil he'd faced down earlier, now so cowed by simple lust and shame. Severus
felt surprisingly pleasant, all of a sudden; it was as though Potter's surrender
had calmed him, steadied his thoughts. His mind settled and rid itself of rage,
reminding him that pride was best broken slowly, not fast. And he did
want to break Potter, didn't he?

Not that it hadn't been...
fascinating... to watch Potter come. To watch him crumble, defiance into
stuttering, gasping desire--and it had been all Severus could do to keep
speaking in a calm, distracted tone, seeing Potter shudder and arch and bite his
lip, mouth hot and soft against the chill dungeon air. The child had obviously
thought he was managing to hide it, what he was doing, what he was
feeling as he tried to hold himself still--and that was so ridiculous it was almost
charming, and Severus would have laughed if it wouldn't have spoiled the moment.

Where violence fails, Severus, try
other means. One of his
mother's first lessons, but Severus had never thought he'd apply it to a Potter.
Strangely enough, this particular Potter seemed vulnerable to non-violent assault--ignorant
enough to blame himself for it, failing even to understand that he'd been
assaulted.

Severus almost hadn't gone through
with it--but the whelp had tried his nerves enough today, and Severus had been determined to tame him. One way or another. He couldn't have allowed himself to
go too far, but it didn't hurt to take advantage of Potter's little secret--the
secret Severus had excavated from his mind, the secret Potter hid as
desperately--and as helplessly--as an oyster hid its pearl. Fortunately, Potter had succumbed
easily, as any boy his age would do--and Severus doubted Potter could imagine
his surly professor doing this to him deliberately, out of any wish to
discipline or admonish him.

Pleasure as punishment. Something Potter
would no doubt learn later in life, as an adult, but then it would be too late--too late to turn back and change what
had happened here, in this darkened corridor at night.

James Potter's son, indeed. Severus
allowed himself a little smirk.

'Sir...?' Potter, delightfully
tentative for once. They were at Severus' office, and the boy stood well away from
the door, as if it were hexed.

Well. It was. All the better
to greet Black with, of course.

'You may
enter, Potter,' Severus said after placing his palm on the door, waiting for his
wards to recognise him before the door swung open.

*

The fire sprang to life as soon as
they entered, and Severus went ahead to his desk before turning around, seeing
Potter hover uncertainly near the threshold.

'The floor won't swallow you up, boy,'
he snapped. 'Take the chair.'

Potter slunk forward like the thief he
was--Severus didn't miss the little glance he shot towards the storeroom, as
clear in its implications as a confession might have been. Severus never had
forgotten about that mysterious disappearance of boomslang skin last year--but
that particular larceny, if indeed it was Potter's doing, would have to be dealt with later.
Severus had more immediate
concerns--such as Potter's tendency to risk his own neck.

A brief punishment couldn't possibly
work on Potter; he was much too persistent for that. Somehow, Severus had to
keep him in one piece throughout the entire Christmas break... Preventative measures as
well as curative ones, preferably.

Potter was growing uncomfortable in
the silence, Severus could see--fidgeting in his chair and pulling his jumper
down to cover his lap. Still rather damp, are we?

Severus casually picked up a quill and
stroked it, slowly, watching Potter flush at the sight. 'Which potion was it?'

The boy blinked.
'Po--?'

'The potion, Potter. That you
needed. Dreamless Sleep, I presume? Or was it something else?'

Potter stared at him again, and the
relief that flashed through his eyes was sign enough that he'd lied. Let the
fool think he'd been believed; it would put Potter at
ease, and leave his face unguarded. 'Y-yes.' Potter swallowed. 'I--I keep having
nightmares--'

'What about?'

'D-dementors.' There was a surprising
amount of conviction in Potter's voice, and Severus wondered if perhaps Potter did
have nightmares, at least occasionally. Well, it wouldn't hurt to ensure that
Potter slept properly; if he did, perhaps he wouldn't be as likely to go
traipsing around at night.

Not that he would take the potion,
anyway; Severus knew enough of Potter's distrust. He didn't even need to dip into
Potter's thoughts to hear the word poison revolving like a
wind-chime in the brat's empty mind.

Ah. So Potter's other dreams certainly
weren't nightmares, even though they kept him awake.

'Very well.' He drew his wand, and Potter
tensed--but Severus only muttered an Accio, leaving his
other hand open to catch a flying vial. It smacked into his palm, its clear
liquid sparkling, and Severus leaned over the desk to offer it. 'Dreamless
Sleep. Take no more than two drops after supper, and your nights should be
restful.'

'Um.' Potter reached out gingerly,
careful not to touch his fingers. 'Thanks.'

'You're welcome.' Severus had to hide
another smirk at the sight of Potter's confusion; he wasn't used to Severus like
this, relaxed and almost human. 'You do realise, of course, that although the
potion might keep you in bed at night, it's no guarantee that you won't
endanger yourself during the day.'

'Sir?'

'What I'm saying, Potter, is that you
haven't exactly earned my trust with tonight's little... escapade--and
I'm going to have to keep an eye on you for your own protection. To ensure
that you don't try to find Black yourself.'

Good gods, the impudence...
Severus nearly lost his composure, but reminded himself of his plan. 'It's not that I
don't want Black found, you imbecile. I simply don't want you to find
him. Or him to find you.'

Severus' patience was stretching thin.
He rapped at the table with his knuckles, and Potter jumped. 'Because I can't trust
you to protect yourself, Potter, you'll spend every daylight hour of the
Christmas holidays here. In the dungeons. With me.'

'I can be serious, Potter,
and I assure you that I am perfectly serious now.' Severus sat back and
picked up his quill again, watching Potter's ire rise.

'But... but when will I see my
friends?'

'During mealtimes. And after supper,
when you retire to Gryffindor.'

Disbelief and rage, this time. 'You
can't do this.'

'Can't I?' Severus raised an eyebrow,
and as planned, Potter blushed again--probably remembering the last time
he'd challenged Severus about what could and could not be done. 'Do you
think the headmaster would react any differently, Potter? He might keep
you in his office instead of mine, but in times of danger, he wouldn't leave you
unguarded. Not with the castle mostly empty as it is, and you with your penchant
for wandering in it.'

'But--' Potter cast about, sputtering.
'But these are my holidays!'

'Holidays you've decided to squander
on reckless adventures, apparently. Don't think I can't imagine what other uses
you've put that Cloak to.' He looked at where it lay, by Potter's feet,
and performed another Accio.

'Hey!'

'Manners, Potter,' Severus said,
almost absently. He draped the Cloak's sleek material--quite lovely,
really--over his arm, and saw it disappear. The Dark Mark, truly invisible for
the first time in years... Once again, the irony wasn't lost on Severus. 'I'll
have to confiscate this.'

But Potter only snapped his mouth
shut, and it didn't take Severus long to deduce that the damned Cloak must have
belonged to James. The knowledge almost made him shove the Cloak off his
lap, except that it obviously hurt Potter to see Severus handle it. So Severus
only smiled, and caressed it while Potter gritted his teeth. 'I'll surrender it
into the headmaster's custody, Potter, and you'll no doubt be able to recover it
once you leave school. We don't allow students to possess such items.'

Potter almost said something again,
but apparently thought better of it--setting his lips into a hard line that was
almost lovely in its petulance. He pushed his chair back, roughly, and stood up.
There was murder in every line of his body, and Severus had no doubt that if
hexing a teacher hadn't meant expulsion, Potter would have done it. 'I hate
you,' Potter said quietly, his voice shaking.

No longer tame, then. Severus
rose as well, letting the Cloak slip from his fingers onto his desk. 'Hatred
matters very little, Potter.' He took care to keep his voice as quiet as
Potter's, and as sincere. 'You'll discover that in time. It won't stop you from
performing tasks you despise, for the people you despise.' Severus
stepped around the table until he stood in front of Potter, who stared up at him
defiantly. 'It's one of humanity's most futile emotions. And yet,' Severus
touched Potter's sleeve, making Potter tense, 'it serves us well at night.' His
hand found the cuff of that awful jumper, sliding beneath it. Potter was as still
as a captured animal, breathing tightly. 'Cold nights, especially, when all we
need is a little--' his fingers found the boy's warm pulse, digging in suddenly
'--heat.'

Potter made a small sound, indecipherable but sweet
nonetheless; his mouth wasn't so stubborn now, softened by the gasp Severus
had wrenched from him. His heartbeat was erratic again, just as it had been in
the corridor--and Severus was glad, for perhaps the first time in his
professional life, that he only had to deal with children.

So easy to manipulate. So very easy, if one knew
their weaknesses, to break.

Potter was looking at Severus as if he were talking
gibberish. His eyes were dark and dilated, and he had both of his hands behind
him, white-knuckled, braced on his chair.

For some reason, the image struck a strange chord within
Severus--the urge to stop and--look--to take note of it somehow, to
remember it, as if it couldn't be replicated simply by pushing Potter's rather
convenient buttons.

'Do you wish to spend your nights here as well,
Potter?' Severus sneered finally, annoyed with himself, and with Potter for
putting on such a--display. 'Because if you do, that can be arranged.'

That got Potter moving. Nothing like the threat
of having one's desires granted, apparently.

The anger had started to return to Potter's face now,
but it was anger mingled with confusion--confusion and an odd sort of despair,
but Severus had no sympathy for the boy.

Oh, dear. Harry has done it to himself. Snape is only taking advantage of an opportunity as any good Slytherin might. But I have the feeling that our Severus has a slight weakness. That of the addiction of power. His supposed power over Harry in this case. In the end, it could ruin him if he is not careful, don't you think?

Another fantastic chapter, and I look forward, as always to yours and Atra's next.Cheers!

*laughs evilly* Oh, yes, he has. In more ways than one--but Snape's 'done it' to him too, the exploitative bastard. :D

But I have the feeling that our Severus has a slight weakness. That of the addiction of power.

Quite right, my dear. It's that part of his personality that led him to become a Death Eater, I believe, and it's rather ironic that Gryffindor's Golden Boy should inspire the devil in him.

But he does also want to protect Harry, and quite sincerely, even if he won't admit it to himself--and it's the combination of these two contradictory urges that forms Snape's behaviour. I still chuckle to think that Snape honestly believes (well, as honestly as he can) that sexually abusing one of his own students is actually good for the student in question. As far as he's concerned, it's just the best method he's found to make Potter fall into line. (And hence into the safe boundaries of Snape's protection.)

Thanks so much for reviewing! You made me think about some of my own--I mean Snape's, er--motives.

yummy

mmmm...that last line is just pure brilliance!it almost sounds if the dear professor is falling, but we both know he'll never ever admit to such a thing. mmmm..no marshmallows..just the way i like him.

snape my push potter buttons but your shure as hell pushing mine (not that i know if theres a difference between dear severus and yourself)*melts quite deliciously on the floor*

The running theme of heat and cold in both chapters stands out and works wonderfully. I said to atrata, the previous chapter was dark and atmoshpheric with the theme of heat and cold, black against black; Potter being overpowered by the blackness of Snape, and now we are seeing into the blackness of Snape in this chapter.

The Dark Mark, truly invisible for the first time in years... This is so interesting. You have, at the beginning of the chapter, Snape deducing Potter's vulnerability--Strangely enough, this particular Potter seemed vulnerable to non-violent assault--ignorant enough to blame himself for it, failing even to understand that he'd been assaulted--and then this. It is a glimpse into Severus' vulnerability--and he is truly more vulnerable that he allows himself to be seen, really. Behind every façade, there is vulnerability and the type of façade that is presented very oft gives away precisely what the person is trying to hide--and *gnashing teeth* it made me wish you had completed the sentence. Him seeing the Dark Mark truly invisible for the first time in years is a delicious, though small insight into Severus' psyche. His desire, his inner demons--gah, I am ranting, but it just really got me thinking about Severus' struggle within himself, of what he is versus what he desires.

And it is interesting also, because we are shown at the beginning of the chapter how much he delights in having such dark, heated control over Potter, and then in this one incomplete sentence, there is the thing that controls him, the Mark. Yes, he is not in the DE, however being that he was has left a deep imprint upon him, as permanent as the Mark itself and he'll forever carry around that reminder.

... *clears throat* Shit, I ramble. And over a half-sentence, too. Hee. Well, in summary, great chapter! What you are both collab'ing here is a true delight to read. I love reading your Snape; you have his intricate mind mapped out very, very well. *loves*

*loves back*

What amazed me in this review of yours was that you spotted something that I wasn't aware of (I can't speak for Atra)--that theme of heat and cold. I guess I picked it up from Atra naturally, because GAH, that last chapter--the sound of Potter's cool gasp was resounding like a gong in my head, and the heat of his skin put me into a veritable fever every time I tried to write this chapter. (Atra's EVIL EVIL EVIL to write with, you know--I mean, she's such a temptation, and her Harry just--makes me want to--do things--)

So I guess I followed through on that hot/cold/black theme without realising it, but NOW! Now you've pointed it out, and I'm like: 'SQUEE! Look how beautiful Atra and I are together!'

(Sorry, Atra. Tell me if I'm freaking you out. :D)

And. Er. Severus. Damned complicated man, as hard and sharp as a chisel, but vulnerable in all the right places, as you've said. (Okay. Some wrong places as well. Very wrong, if his reactions to his thirteen-year-old student are anything to go by.)

I'm delighted that you caught the Dark Mark line, little though it was--I wasn't sure anyone would really notice it, but it does mean a lot. How very much Severus longs to escape from his own darkness... to erase parts of his past, of himself. Not that Harry can see that, of course, with all the verbal bashing the poor boy's being subjected to. (Like I said somewhere before: snark = Snape's defense mechanism. And paranoia = his security system.)

It's very difficult, when writing Severus, to be sure that one isn't revealing too many of his vulnerabilities--I've found that it's better to leave most of them implied rather than explicitly stated, otherwise the verity of Snape's POV is violated.

I thought I mightn't have shown him at ALL, in the way I intended, but you've assured me that I have. :)

"would have laughed, would it not have spoiled the moment" is what you meant to type, I think.

*Man,* Switchknife, you are back, aren't you? This whole paragraph is hot:

Not that it hadn't been... fascinating... to watch Potter come. To watch him crumble, defiance into stuttering, gasping desire--and it had been all Severus could do to keep speaking in a calm, distracted tone, seeing Potter shudder and arch and bite his lip, mouth hot and soft against the chill dungeon air. The child had obviously thought he was managing to hide it, what he was doing, what he was feeling as he tried to hold himself still--and that was so ridiculous it was almost charming, and Severus would have laughed had it not spoiled the moment.

You used the alternating narrative structure to great advantage here. I really didn't know until I got to yours if Harry had been observed or not, or if the frottage was deliberate or -- well, not accidental, but unconscious.

The way you move into Snape's thoughts is natural and consistent, and your nasty Snape is believable and canon-correct.

And I'm really, really hoping that this will be a case of the seducer seduced. I think you're heading in that direction... sigh.

Oh, thanks for pointing out that grammatical oversight! (This is what you get for having 15 different versions of one chapter... :D) I've corrected it now, to read: 'would have laughed if it wouldn't have spoiled the moment.'

I'm so glad you found that paragraph hot! The very thought of watching Harry come makes me Snape hot. Whether he'll admit it or not.

And yes, this narrative structure is one of the plus points of co-writing. With each person taking on a different character, we can provide mirror insights into the same event, from different perspectives. It's like a wonderful game of hide and seek, and Atra totally THREW me with her chapter. Hee--you can ask her just how ASDLKJALKJLJSKLF I was after that frottage scene. I think my Snape lost all his marbles for quite some time, and I had to wait before I could respond with anything coherent. ;)

ooooo -- hard to think of anything hotter than punishments for a person's own good. I imagine Severus even thinks Potter will retain some actual benefit from having his willfullness thoroughly tamed. I wonder if he'd do the same without that veil of legitimacy?

I finally got a time to read this series, and wow, I'm enjoying it so, so much! Just seeing how badly little Harry plays his game...and he doesn't know it...thrills me. What's great about this series is, when I read Harry's narration, I get to go into Harry's skin. I get to feel Snape's strong grasp on my arm, his cold and smooth voice pouring into my ears. When reading Snape's, I get to throw sarcastic words at him, feel the sick satisfaction on watching this poor boy squirm in my arms, helplessly.

atrata and switchknife, you guys are doing a marvelous job on this. Thank you so much and I look forward to the next chapter! ^_^

Ah, thanks so much! I'm having an excellent time with the back-and-forth narrative structure -- you're right, it's very cool to know what's going on with both of them. I tend to stick very strictly to one POV in my own work, so this has been really great so far. Switch may be evil, but is very fun to write with. I'm glad you're enjoying the results. :)